Château de Braine

It served as a country home for the counts of Egmont-Pignatteli, and its gardens were designed by André Le Nôtre.

In 1717, Henriëtte Julie de Durfot, countess of Braine, married count Procope Egmont-Pignatelli, prince of Gavere, scion of two illustrious house: the Egmond or Egmont and Pignatelli.

They sold the Egmont Palace in Brussels to Léopold Philippe, 4th Duke of Arenberg, while the castles in Lahamaide and Zottegem fell into disrepair.

The new centre of attention is now the hôtel d’Egmont at the Rue Louis-le-Grand 21 in Paris and the château in Braine, as the primary country home.

Septimanie d’Egmont was a known salonist, who was in contact with Voltaire, Rousseau, and the Swedish king Gustav III, and invited them over to the château de Braine.

Today, the only remains are the entrance gate to the château, dating from the 18th century, and the 16th-century vaulted cellars of the main building.